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<p>Nah. She’s got the stats to qualify for merit money at most schools that offer it, but her top choices are all LACs in the Northeast. Great schools, every one, but not a dime of merit money among them. We’re just above the cut-off point for need-based FA, the point at which colleges say we can afford full freight but we have to swallow hard and ask how we’re going to find $50K+ per year for the next 8 years (for D1 & D2) when that represents close to 40% of our after-tax income. We’ll have to scrimp and save, defer maintenance and purchases, forego amenities, and take out substantial loans, but we’ll scrape by; bottom line, we are financially secure enough to do it, though not without pain. But we value education highly and do not want to deny our daughters their educational dreams. </p>
<p>DW & I, both Michigan alums, always said we wanted to give our kids at least the education we got. That’s a pretty high standard, and frankly one that IMHO many of the pricier private schools on these lists wouldn’t meet. D1’s schools do meet that standard. So we’ll bite the bullet. I do think on pure academics Michigan is highly competitive with her preferred schools, especially if she gets into the Honors Program which would give any one of her top schools a run for its money. But she likes small, she likes Northeast, and she feels she can more easily carve her own path if she’s not following in Mom & Dad’s footsteps. (Sigh). I can almost taste that $8K difference, though. In fact, I can taste it. It would pay for the occasional plate of shrimp, the occasional dinner out, the nice bottle of wine on Saturday night. (Sigh). Not to mention the replacement car for our beat-up 10 year old minivan and the badly needed replacement windows in our back room.</p>